"Hello, Angelina. I want to play a game."
Angelina whimpered. Tears trickled down her white face as she realized the seriousness of her predicament. Billy the Puppet was a clear harbinger of doom.
"Since you were a little girl, you dreamed of being rich. For years, you have made your living… through prostitution, hoping that something else, something better would come along. But either nothing came along, or you lost the will to pursue it."
The creepy puppet was telling the truth. Angelina adored money, and she adored sex.
"The device you are wearing is attached to your tailbone," said the clown.
It was also telling the truth about the sinister device clamped to her lower spine. Angelina felt her spine with her hands. Her long, pale fingers slid over what seemed to be blood. She tried to prise it off, but the metal dug into her flesh and she quickly let go.
"When the timer on this television runs out, the device will pull your entire spine out from your lower back. There is but one key to the device, and it is located," it said, "...inside every man's favourite orifice."
The puppet laughed evilly. The sound was low, guttural, sickening… And it made a shiver run down Angelina's spine and into the device.
"Look around, Angelina. Do you see the large pear-shaped implement on the table to your right?"
Angelina blinked rapidly and the table and the object on it came into focus. The pear-shaped implement had a handle and four lobes. It was completely made of metal and the lobes had disturbingly beautiful and elaborate Celtic patterns. Angelina was used to the smaller, more subtle version her regular clients sometimes brought along. She knew exactly how the Pear worked, so the instructional clip Jigsaw had prepared was completely uncalled for.
"Look here. In case you've forgotten, here is how the Pear works," said Billy.
The screen went static for a second. Angelina watched in horror, expecting to see another one of Jigsaw's victims being mutilated, but what she saw was worse. The video was obviously taken from a hidden camera in what looked like a limousine. A limousine that she recognised as her favourite client's. She saw herself with the Pear in her shaking hands. The Angelina on the TV had a weak smile. Her client, a man in an expensive suit and a fat gold ring on his finger, had a genuine broad grin. Angelina looked at him one final time and lowered the Pear to her lap...
Angelina looked away and screamed. She covered her ears and shut her eyes tight. She knew what she had to do to save her life. The life which she now regretted ever choosing.
"Live or die," said Billy. "Make your choice."
The screen went static and then switched off. Angelina let out the most terrible, agonized, heart-wrenching scream, knowing no one could hear her. She collapsed on the floor and pounded the ground. She looked up at the timer on the television. She had four and a half minutes left. Her time was running out.
Knowing she had no choice, Angelina shakily peeled herself off the floor and walked to the table where the Pear was lying. Its edges seemed to have an evil, glowing aura. She stretched out her hand to pick it up. It was heavier than she'd expected. She picked it up with both hands. She twisted the knob on it. The Pear opened wide. Inside, she could see a metal screw in the middle used to hold the Pear together. She grimaced at it and let go of the knob. The Pear clamped itself shut. She looked at the timer again. Two minutes. She had to.
A minute and fifty seconds... She props herself against the wall...
A minute and a half... With a nasty sense of déjà vu, she lowers the Pear...
A minute and ten seconds... She feels the cool metal on her skin...
One minute left... She begins to press the Pear further inside...
Thirty seconds... The Pear is in. Angelina steels herself... and begins to twist the knob...
Twenty seconds... Angelina screams, desperate for all of it to end...
Fifteen seconds... Inside her, she hears the clink of metal on metal...
Ten seconds... She hears the key fall into the Pear's mechanism...
Five seconds... She smiles for the first time that day and takes the Pear out, letting go of the knob.
Four seconds... The Pear seals itself shut, taking the key with it...
Three seconds... Angelina tries to open the Pear, but it's jammed. The key is gone...
Two seconds... Angelina screams...
One second... A magnetic force surges through the floor. The device is pulled to the ground... Angelina, a mangled mess of flesh, blood and bone, slumps to the wall, dead...
Game over.
Dedicated to my good friend Omar and his friend John. Hugs, kisses, and an early death, lads!